I am a 52 year old, healthy woman. Over the past 17 years I have been having yearly mammograms. My mother was diagnosed 17 yrs ago and unfortunately her cancer returned 10 years later. This had changed my way of thinking forever. I said to myself, "If I ever get BC I will choose a double mastectomy so I do not have to go thru what my mother did". Well, February 21, 2014, my life changed forever. I was diagnosed with IDC. The doctors were very confident that I had stage 1, very early and very treatable. I wasn't in denial, but in disbelief. My surgery was successful, but the pathology report changed so many things, esp my course of treatment. My tumor was not 1 cm, it was 2 cm, I had a positive lymph node and I'm triple negative. They also found DCIS in the other breast, which had not shown up in my last mammogram. I was re-staged a 2a, still very treatable. I am an extremely upbeat positive person, but I have to admit, was down about all this negative news.
So now my treatment is ACT. 4 rounds of AC for 8 weeks, and 12 round of Taxel. Followed by 5 weeks of radiation.
The good news is I have an army of support. My family and friends, even strangers of my little community, State College, pa has been a wonderful blessing. I begin my treatment Monday, May 12th. Please keep me in your prayers, and continue to have your yearly mammograms, thank you for reading my story.
State college, pa, PA